Auston Trusty’s calmness mixed with confidence in his teammates means that he’s a little less concerned than the rest of us as the clock ticks past the 90 minutes mark with Celtic still looking for an important winner…
In two successive matches at Celtic Park, against Dundee in the Scottish Cup and Livingston in the Scottish Premiership the supports’ nerves were jangling as the clock ticked down into the time added on, never enough given the amount of time-wasting that’s always allowed when Celtic need a goal.
The American international centre-back though remains calm believing that his teammates will deliver and first it was Junior Adamu against Dundee then Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the Livingston match, both making their debuts from the bench, who found the back of the net.
“It’s fine! We have had a couple of games like that recently, but we have come out on top. That’s the important thing,” Trusty said as reported by MSM site TCW as Celtic’s disgraceful ban on the Celtic Fan Media continues.
Trusty continued: “On the pitch, we have the mentality and belief that we will score. I don’t know how many crosses we had against Livingston, and we just needed it to fall for us. I always felt that sooner or later, we would come out on top and get the goal.”
On the impact from the new arrivals with Junior Adamu and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain being the key-men in the last two matches, Trusty appreciates the impact they and the other new Bhoys have made as Celtic looks to push on in three fronts to turn a turbulent season into a successful one.
“The new signings have settled in well, and a lot of that is down to the environment they have walked into,” Trusty explained. “I have only been here for 18 months, and I can tell you that it is easy to adapt to the squad we have at Celtic. It’s a great dressing room here.
“Alex (Oxlade-Chamberlain) has come into the squad and adapted really well. It was a dream debut for him to get the winning goal. You can see the quality he has, and also so much experience.”
Martin O’Neill has made an amazing impact in both his emergency spells as interim manager to steady the ship after the board had to chase two permanent managers for vastly different reasons.
On Martin O’Neill’s impact Trusty had this to say. “He’s great. Myself and everyone in the squad are really happy to have him here. He knows what he wants from his team and players, and he gives you the confidence to go out and do it.
“He’s a very good man manager and a really approachable guy off the pitch too. It’s great for all the players here to have someone like that who we can have a real conversation with.”
Celtic are at Rugby Park this afternoon to take on a Kilmarnock side who have rallied in recent weeks, winning against both Aberdeen and St Mirren and of course they are now managed by the former Rangers (the first one) and Hearts winger Neil McCann. He’ll have his side up for it today looking to rock the Champions’ boat and do theRangers and Hearts a favour.
For Trusty though this is nothing new. “We have had a lot of highs and lows this year,” the American said. “Through those times, you see the true character of the team. Kilmarnock is a big one for us, and we also have to take the Stuttgart match in the same way.
“This is going to be an interesting spell of fixtures for us. The Europa League is extremely important for us, but the same goes for the league and the Scottish Cup.
“It’s a game-by-game mentality at Celtic, and that’s how it’s got to be. We need a lot of intensity and a lot of mental focus.”
Celtic FC interim Chairman Brian Wilson and Executive Directors will this week meet the Celtic Fans Collective where hopefully the disgraceful bans can be lifted.
Last chance to grab your copy of Invincible, signed by Matt Corr
Last remaining copies of Matt Corr’s brilliant debut book ‘Invincible’ are now being sold on our bookstore or just £10 plus postage. And please note we only charge postage on the first book in our order so you can order others for just a tenner each postage free. Invincible is a brilliant read covering that awesome season that ended in spectacular fashion at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final….
Stocks are very low on Invincible so if you want it in your Celtic book collection today would be a good time to order! Visit celticstarbooks.com to get your copy of INVINCIBLE.
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